Trump Discovers Huge Wall in Québec

 

Republican candidate Donald Trump grabbed the headlines once again with a shocking announcement today:

As you know, when I am elected President of the United States, I will be building a wall on our southern border. This wall will be the most amazing, enormous, and luxurious wall that has ever been built. I have had my people scanning the globe for a fabulous wall to serve as a model. Today I am in Québec to present this wall behind me to the American people. Of course, many people in the construction industry are already talking about it. And me. I imagine they are probably saying: "Trump has done it again."

Sources inside the campaign confirm that a team of Trump specialists have been dispatched to study just what makes this wall so enormous, despite its seemingly modest physical dimensions.

Keyng on Quirky

Keyng is a boardless keying system with tactile response for alphanumeric input to portable devices through exoskeleton frames.

I developed the idea about 18 months ago, but haven't really done much since then. I've decided to submit Keyng to Quirky--and crowdsourcing product development site.

If you like the idea, please vote :)

Here is the first prototype--built out of Legos--by my son:

The Salsa project completes Phase 1

Having successfully provided web-accessible online syllabi to more than 5,000 students during the Fall 2014 pilot program, the Salsa project completed Phase 1 on January 31, 2015.

Phase 1 was made possible through funding provided by the Utah Science and Technology Research (USTAR) initiative, and a partnership between Commercial Enterprises and the Center for Innovative Design & Instruction (CIDI).

Salsa is an open-source, web-based application for creating accessible higher-education syllabi. The full application is available for download at GitHub.

What a difference a day makes....

April 16 & 17, 2015

Utah State University campus

Bird Song Labs

I developed this instructional tool for the College of Natural Resources at Utah State University a few years back. There are three labs that contain image maps of 35 North American birds. Click on a bird's image and you will hear its song:

There has been speculation that listening to birds sing may have mental health benefits: http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/animals/blogs/can-bird-songs-boost-your-brain

Bullet-proof Jigsaw Instruction Sheet

Have you ever tried to conduct a Jigsaw Activity with your learners? It can be a time-consuming and frustrating process, but one that is often worth the results if you muscle through :)

Here is my attempt to create a Bullet-proof Instruction Sheet™ for Jigsaw Activities:

PDF file: https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/gjoeckel/bis/Jigsaw_Instructions.pdf

Please share suggestions for improvements!



This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Keeping the GUI simple with the HUI

The Hidden User Interface

As we strive to maintain the "easy as dirt"* usability of the Graphic User Interface (GUI) in our open source Salsa application, we are creating a customizable User interface that lives "beneath" the GUI. We have even coined an original term: Hidden User Interface (HUI).**

We're still fleshing out the concept, but here are some thoughts:

GUI

1. Achieve simplicity and beauty through "ruthless reduction" (inspired by Fedarko's description of dories in The Emerald Mile).
2. Provide an interface that is accessible for all Users.
3. Maintain a common "top-level" interface to support interactions between Users: collaborative creation of SALSAs, feedback, coaching. 
4. Maintain a common "top-level" interface to optimize resources and services provided for Users: documentation, training, support.

HUI

1. Provide the ability to adapt to a User's spatial and/or visual preferences.
2. Allow the User to select the level of instructional scaffolding that is visible.
3. Allow Users to also share HUIs through the "Template Link" (currently allows a User to share content without creating a User account).

SALSA template link

*Actual client feedback on a beta version.
** Originality claim based on an exhaustive (several minutes) Google search.